Editorials > Five, No, Make That Six,Oh Wait, I Forgot State Of Grace, So It's SEVEN Great Cop Flicks

YouTube clips are posted on My Crappy Blog, http://onlineeditorblog.blogspot.com.

Stop Tivo’ing “C.S.I.” and rent these definitive cop flicks.

5. “Fort Apache, The Bronx” (1981): This is the Bronx I sort of remember from 80s-era school trips to the Bronx Zoo and Metro-North trips to Grand Central. It took a lot of heat for portraying the South Bronx as a den of drug-addicted crack whores, but the movie’s more about one patrolman’s cynicism – and goes a long way to explain how city cops tend to view the rest of us as civilians. One of the great lost classics.

4. “Serpico” (1973): Yeah they wrote books about Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg and George Lucas chillin’ together in the 70s, but old-man Sidney Lumet put them all to same with “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network.” “Serpico,” about a guy trying to stay honest, features Al Pacino’s best role. How he didn’t win an Oscar is anybody’s guess (yet they gave it to him for the crappy “Scent of a Woman?").

3. “Prince of the City” (1981): Another Lumet cop classic, and, like “Serpico,” it’s based on a true story of corruption. This one almost works a a horror film, as narco cop Treat Williams tries to save his corrupt soul – without giving up his cop buddies. More tortured souls than any crappy ‘torture porn’ horror. Probably the definitive cop movie, as demonstrated by this scene: http://onlineeditorblog.blogspot.com (sorry)

2. “Narc” (2002): Director Joe Carnahan obviously watched “Serpico” and “Prince of the City” as a kid, because he’s clearly going for a Lumet-vibe here, sprinkled with some MTV -style editing. Ray Liotta tears up the screen as an overly aggressive detective, but Jason Patric is the glue that holds the whole thing together. I totally viewed his character as the further adventures of the dude he played in “Rush,” which should probably be on is list instead of “The Departed.”

1. “The French Connection” (1971): As the son and brother of police officers, my favorite scene – when ‘Popeye’ Doyle, freezing half to death, eating pizza, slurping bad coffee while watching his fancy French target inside an exclusive restaurant, asks a passerby on the streets of NYC: “Excuse me ma’am, about those shoes . . .”
Here’s the chase scene which everyone talks about: (interesting thing about the scene is that it defines the obsessive nature of the main character, as opposed to action-for-action’s sake)

(chase scene posted on my crappy blog)

6. “The Departed” (2006): If only for the scene where Alec Baldwin expresses his love for the Patriot Act. Movie spurred me to go to the library and check-out “Brutal” and “The Brothers Bulger,” which tell the true tales of Whitey Bulger (Jack Nicholson’s character) and his politico brother, Billy. Stomach-churning what was happening in that Boston FBI office – and the legislature. (This video almost show the aforementioned “Patriot scene, but cuts out, which proves, once again, why YouTube is ruled by complete morons)

(go to http://onlineeditorblog.blogspot.com then look around to see that clip, or Youtube yourself, of course)

7. “State of Grace” (1990): I saw this in the theater in high school, and I remember it coming out around the same time as “Goodfellas” and ” The Shawshank Redemption” (could be completely wrong, but that’s memory for ya). My memories – Gary Oldman, incredible, Sean Penn, holy cow, the guy’s a young DeNiro. I also remember it being completely ignored. I’ve never stopped liking this movie, despite its slow parts. An ending that rivals the conclusion of “The Wild Bunch.” Stumbled upon a YouTube clip, which further demonstrates why YouTube is the best damn invention since the dawn of the Internet.